Flynn seemed to confirm that the White House saw Iran as behind
the attack on the Saudis and to signal some US response, but it
seems the Pentagon has no idea what putting Iran "on notice"
actually entails.

"We saw the statement as well," a spokesman for US Central
Command, the command responsible for the Middle East, told The Guardian. "This is still at the
policy level, and we are waiting for something to come down the
line. We have not been asked to change anything operationally in
the region."

A White House official told The Guardian that the US was "going
to take appropriate action" and "considering a whole range of
options," including military strikes.

The US has repeatedly clashed with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary
Guard Corps off the coast of Yemen, with encounters stopping just
short of bloodshed.

Lawrence Brennan, a professor of maritime law and former US Navy
commander, told Business Insider on Wednesday that the US
Navy may reconsider their rules of engagement with the
Iranians at sea and that as the risk of conflict increases, the
US Navy may look to fire on harassing Iranian ships sooner rather
than later.